‘I just had a go’

Speedy Alaba follows in Makaay's footsteps

Created on 03-04-2013 at 00:00 AM

It took place at the north end of the stadium, it was set up by a pass from the right, and it was finished off with clinical precision: you can't help but notice the parallels between the fastest-ever goal in Champions League history and David Alaba's long-range effort against Juventus on Tuesday evening. Back in March 2007, FCB centre-forward Roy Makaay opened the scoring against Real Madrid with a well-placed daisy-cutter from 12 yards, just 10.12 seconds after kick-off. Almost exactly six years later, Alaba's deflected bouncer from close on 30 yards had the stadium on its feet again, this time after 25.02 seconds of play, making it the seventh fastest goal in competition history.

“Obviously I'm thrilled, but what matters is our success as a team," Alaba told fcbayern.de the next day. “I went to bed feeling good," continued the player, but he was in for a restless night. “Most of the time, I don't really sleep so well after evening games," revealed the Vienna native, “I did run over the goal a few times in my head."